Gary looks a good bit like Hoss from Bonanza. He's not as tall and not as big, but has startling similar features that make you look twice when you first notice him. Gary is also mentally challenged. A lot of people say that about other folks as a joke of sorts, but to Gary it's no joke. It's a fact of life. Not that he lets it bother him. In fact I've never met a more peaceful, calm, loving person in my life and I enjoy being around him immensely. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Gary will be thirty next month and still refers to his father as 'Daddy'. Which seems a little odd until you realize that he is operating on about an eight year old level. What makes him really special, is that he is free of the tantrums and moods swings and 'off' days that tend to plague any other eight year old. For Gary, every day is a good one.
Gary is one of the only people I know who will meet you with a smile every single time he sees you. Which tends to make you feel a bit like a celebrity. He can and will anticipate your needs or wants and will happily go and get any desired item without being asked. Which is only one of the amazing things about Gary. Despite being labeled as disabled, he has his moments. Moments when he will astound you by knowing things that he simply should not know, and any approval you show him, will leave him glowing like a new bulb. All right, I know, I tend to go on about Gary, but I can't help myself. I am very fond of him. So, when I found out that he was being taken advantage of, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to learn that I was mad enough to go to jail over it.
Gary works outdoors for the county in a rehabilitation work program for adults. He's not really being rehabilitated from anything, but it's where he fits in best and he does well in the environment. His weekly paycheck is paltry, but it's his own pocket money and he's proud of what he earns, every bit of which goes into a faux leather wallet with a deer engraved on the front fold. The drawback is, he has no concept of money or trading. He has no idea how to make change, or to know how much is due him. It took the girl who works in the grocery store where he cashes his check, a scant few weeks to discover this fact.
Gary's father noticed that Gary was short on funds more often than not and suggested that he was losing his money. Gary flipped out that wallet with the deer on the front, and the little snap on the end and assured his father that he was not losing his money.
"Well, then you're spending it, son. You need to manage your money better."
"I'm not, Daddy! I'm not spending it!"
"Well then, where's it going? Your check should be over twice the amount you have now."
Gary was red in the face from the exertion of trying to understand what was happening to his money. After eliminating the loss factor and the overspending possibility, it became clear that someone was stealing from Gary, and a setup was set up. Gary's father called the store where Gary cashes his check and spoke with the manager, and a sting of sorts was arranged. That Friday when Gary went in to cash his check, the manager watched from a discreet location. After the cashier finished the transaction, the manager stopped Gary at the door and asked him if he could see his money.
"Oh no!" Gary laughed. "I don't know about that!"
"I promise I'll give it back, son. I just want to help you count it."
Considering the trouble Gray had been having with his funds, he rapidly handed the money over. Gary's check was in excess of fifty dollars. In his wallet he had fifteen dollars and some change. The cashier was promptly fired, and Gary was given the balance of his money immediately, and the mystery was once and for all...solved. It is estimated that Gary had been robbed of just over a hundred dollars in less than a month. Not a whole heck of a lot of money, but to Gary, it was two weeks pay.
I'm sorry, but I would have to assume that God would tend to frown on such a thing and I just can't imagine how anyone could sell their trust and integrity so cheaply. I wasn't there when this disgusting display took place and I'm glad. I would not have wanted to have to watch Gary's face when he realized that the pretty girl that smiled at him every week, had been stealing from him.
To this day the manager cashes Gary's check personally and Gary and his father have found peace again as regards Gary's own personal pocket money that he earns himself. The cashier no doubt has gone on to some other cashier job elsewhere, and is most likely taking advantage of someone else. There is no telling how much she has stolen or will steal, but it really doesn't matter. In the grand scheme of things it will all come back to haunt her one day. Gary on the other hand, may be a few dollars short and perhaps a wee bit wiser and less trusting, but he has his future mapped out before him, in this world and the next, and I've no doubt that he will meet it head on, with his customary sweet smile.
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